Franklin MBA Was the First Graduate American Degree in Oman

When the Modern College of Business and Science (MCBS), the first private higher-education institution in the Sultanate of Oman, sought to bring the first English-language MBA to market, it needed the help of a well-respected U.S. partner. Enter Franklin University. In collaboration with MCBS, Franklin’s MBA program is helping develop MCBS students into well-rounded, adaptive and strategic-thinking business leaders.

Our Solution

Franklin engineered a plan for success that was approved by the Ministry of Higher Education in the Sultanate of Oman in 2009. The MBA program in the capital city of Muscat includes 50 percent of courses taught face-to-face by MCBS faculty and managed for quality by Franklin, and 50 percent taught by Franklin faculty in a blended format (online and onsite). Leveraging a Franklin-hired program coordinator, MCBS locally admits, registers and advises its students.

Faculty & Administrator Training

Based on the great success of the initial MBA program and the depth of its partnership with Franklin, MCBS once again sought Franklin’s help -- this time for faculty and administrator training and development through BlueHorizon, Franklin’s proprietary ESL offering; BlueQuill, Franklin’s learning management system; and other consulting services.

MCBS faculty and administrators visited Franklin’s Main Campus in Columbus, Ohio, attending professional development events and activities in support of the pedagogical and technological modernization of their institution.

A key element of Franklin’s support for MCBS’ growth are American faculty members who travel to Oman to teach classes onsite. Franklin instructors remain in Oman for a month at a time, teaching MCBS classes, providing native speaker support for ESL through BlueHorizon, and participating in curriculum development, assessment and related academic activities. Since 2015, dozens of Franklin faculty members have contributed their expertise onsite in Muscat through this education-sharing program.

ESL Expertise

In the spring of 2015, MCBS called upon Franklin to provide its ESL expertise in transforming the MCBS’ face-to-face ESL program. Already the second-largest ESL program in Oman, MCBS sought Franklin’s assistance to modernize its curriculum by adopting Franklin’s BlueHorizon and BlueQuill technologies. Using a student-centered and blended-learning approach, Franklin redesigned the MCBS curriculum. Student response and external reviews are extremely positive, contributing to the growth of the MCBS ESL program, which now serves more than 2,000 students annually. Notably, standardized test results for graduates have demonstrably improved since implementation of Franklin’s program. Further, seeing the competitive advantage of using BlueQuill, MCBS currently is investigating a much broader scope of use and looking to Franklin to help it widen its already-notable technological lead in the Omani market.

MCBS Success

Franklin faculty travel to Oman to teach classes with locally engaged faculty who are formally qualified by Franklin. Since 2009, the program has grown into the most successful U.S.-based program in the region and has run 14 cohorts with almost 400 students. The program boasts a 99 percent retention rate with the successful placement of nearly 150 program graduates in high positions of responsibility within Omani industry and government enterprises. This multiyear, multimillion-dollar collaboration marks significant reputational enhancement, and has substantially impacted the region, thanks to human capital development in the Sultanate of Oman.